DOT Secretary And SELC Director Debate Bonner Bridge

SELC's Derb Carter (left) and NC DOT's Tony Tata in the WUNC Durham Studios for The State of Things. Engineer Robin Copley adjusts the microphones.

Credit Carol Jackson / WUNC

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Derb Carter, director of the Chapel Hill office of the Southern Environmental Law Center and Tony Tata, Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Transportation discuss the Bonner Bridge controversy

The North Carolina Department of Transportation closed the Bonner Bridge last week, leaving Hatteras residents with few options for transportation to and from the mainland. In the wake of the closing, politicians have accused environmentalists of delaying construction of a replacement bridge. Activists say the blame is misplaced and the Department’s delays are at fault.